Coin operated vending machines have been widely utilized for many years. Soft drinks (soda or fruit juice drinks) in cans, bottles, etc., are commonly dispersed from vending machines as are other edibles and in many cases non-edibles e.g., cosmetics, games, etc.
To operate the vending machine coins are normally inserted in the machine and a button is depressed to select the item desired.
Collection procedures commonly utilized in the vending machine industry call for a collector to visit each vending machine on a periodic basis to refil the machine as well as to collect the money in the machine.
While collection of the proceeds should supposedly directly relate to the amount of money taken in by the machine, in fact pilferage or machine malfunction may yield less cash to the machine owner. Accordingly, a need has developed to provide an up to date record of the cash collected by each vending machine so as to detect pilferage or machine malfunction as well as to reduce accounting time.
In particular there has developed the need for a portable device working in conjunction with a recording device on the vending machine, which could be used by the machine owner to interrogate each vending machine independent of the collection of the proceeds from the vending machine. The present invention provides a system which will fulfill the above requirements.